[DepressedIndian]

Lithium – Side Effect – Vertigo Dizziness…Pls Confirm

Hi Friends,

Need one help from those who have been also prescribed lithium.

I have been prescribed lithium 400 mg one tablet daily night along with other antidepressants for my major depression.

However I am having g dizziness and vertigo from last several days. I have discontinued lithium after taking from last 10 days. I am now in my third day of discontinuation of lithium. But I still have vertigo / dizziness. When I stand up and try to walk; I feel I might lose balance or else feeling everything around me is a little moving including my body. I have to join my job in couple of days and I am worried when this vertigo / dizziness will go. How much time it takes for lithium to eliminate completely…?

Has anyone on lithium experienced this and what exactly did you felt. When did your dizziness / vertigo disappeared…any suggestions.

Thanks for your reading aand possibly and suggestion or sharing of your experience.

Regards
Depressed Indian

[Slothrop]

When did you start taking the other medications? I have not experienced dizziness with lithium, but I have with Cymbalta and Abilify, for example.

Also, have you withdrawn any other medications recently? Some people report dizziness and vertigo after stopping certain drugs like Effexor.

[deliquesce]

dizziness can be a side effect of lithium, but it's probably best to check with your prescriber that it is not due to the other meds you are on.

if it is lithium, it can stay in your system for up to 10 days (lithium stays in the cns fluids for quite some time). i have experienced other side effects from lithium before (not dizziness), but when i discontinued it took about a week to die down, and then 2 weeks to disappear completely.

please go back to your doc though and make sure this is the right thing for you to be doing!!

[DepressedIndian]

thanks guys ...that was indeed good inputs...I believe is this due to either remeron withdrawal or too much anxiety...any experience in this regard

thanks again

[Tinaleigh]

lithium has always been tricky for me. When you are on more than one medication (in my case several) it can be hard to figure out which one is causing which side effect. It helps to chart the side effects as you experience them that way you can see if it correlates with a rise in dosages or a new medication. I never experienced severe vertigo from lithium but when lithium was combined with a blood pressure med (off label for anxiety) my blood pressure would drop severly low and cause vertigo and dizziness. I would talkto your doctor or pharmacist about drug interactions. Chances are the drugs don't interact but they may exacerbate the side effects of another. (I know some antibiotics can increase the level of sedation you experience with lithium or antipsychotics, also steroids and albuterol can make a stable bipolar person suddenly not so stable- learned the hard way). Try to stay on lithium if you can (completely understandable if the side effects are too much, it happens). It has pretty much been a miracle drug for me. Good Luck!

[Rockclimber21]

I too am having dizziness due to what my primary care doctor thinks is from lithium. I discontinued it four days ago but am still experiencing these side effects. I had been taking it over the past 1.5 months at 150 mg and experienced dizziness and feeling like I'm going to pass out all of a sudden. I discontinued it, but my symptoms have not subsided. I am currently at the doctors and awaiting to see what is the culprit. Contrary to my primary care doctor, my psychiatrist did not think it was due to the lithium, but I stopped it nonetheless. I am also on latuda, lamictal, and klonopin. I hope you have started to feel better and that I will as well. I hope you also find meds that make you stable and with minimal side effects. My therapist says the right "key" is out there, we just all have to be patient and stay strong to find the right concauction. I have been waiting over a year since I was first diagnosed with bipolar to be completely stable. For instance, it took 2 weeks to get rid of mania, 2 months to get rid of hypomania, and now I've been experiencing depression for over 8 months. I pray for all those who are struggling with bipolar to find peace and stability soon! Keep strong everyone.

[ccrown25]

400mg is a very high dose to start on. I started on 200mg for the first month and then my doc very slowly bumped me up to 400mg. Definitely, DEFINITELY call your doc and let him/her know about what is going on. Hopefully they can either reduce your dose until you get to a point where it builds up in your system or switch you to something else. I took Lithium for several years and it took 4 months for it to build up to a "workable level" in my system and I had to have my blood checked every 3 months to make sure it was still around the same levels.

[Guiness187055]

I do not get those side effects from lithium thank god.

[WildcatVet]

Lithium has a very long half life and a 400mg dose will need approximately 7 days to completely clear your system. But because you were on such a low dose (I take 1500mg/day) for such a short period of time you should be fine in just a couple more days.

[Rockclimber21]

I actually just found out what was wrong with me. I had an inner ear infection, with oddly no ear pain, which put pressure on my vestibulocochlear nerve. I would definitely check out other doctors if this continues, because it too could be an inner ear problem. I went to an ENT doctor. Also, get you blood levels checked when on lithium because this will tell you if it is out of your system or is too high. My psychiatrist explained that Lithium should be out of your system after you stop taking after 5-10 days. Best!